O'Cannabiz Speakers

Myrna L. Gillis Q.C., LL.B., B.A.

Bedford, NS, Canada

CEO & Co-Founder, Aqualitas Inc.

Myrna Gillis is an entrepreneur, lawyer, innovator and disabilities advocate. She founded her own firm and practiced labour and employment law for 25 years, focusing on the representation of individuals and agencies supporting persons with disabilities. In 2014, Myrna entered the cannabis industry, motivated by her passion for disabilities advocacy and desire to ensure access to safe, consistent, affordable cannabis produced in an environmentally responsible way. She co-founded Aqualitas Inc. and its award-winning research and development company, FinLeaf Technologies Inc. and has successfully raised exempt market capital in Canada and the USA and has led initiatives in research, development and innovation, including projects with grant funding from provincial and federal agencies. Aqualitas was recently granted a license to cultivate cannabis through Health Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). Myrna promotes diversity in the workplace, women in business and is proud to be an allied member of Women Grow, a for-profit entity that serves as a catalyst for women to influence and succeed in the cannabis industry. Myrna has served on the executive of various boards, including DASC, a social enterprise employer supporting persons with disabilities; For A Dream’s Sake, an endowment fund for women with terminal cancer; Dalhousie Law Alumni Association; Boys and Girls Clubs of Nova Scotia and Canada; and the Dalhousie Legal Aid Service Board of Trustees. She also served on the Nova Scotia labour management review committee and received her Queen’s Counsel designation in 2014 for exceptional merit and contribution to the legal profession. She has been peer-rated for her high level of professionalism, competence and ethical standards.